Out of all the places I’ve been to, this one was my favourite. And I don’t mean just because of the yummy tummy filling dessert but because of the amazing service and friendliness filled human Francis Pompadour, lovingly called ‘Pompa’. Yes! He is the 25-year-old human who had big dreams of bringing the Dutch mini pancakes to Candolim, Goa.
Now, how the cart got that weird funny name is not a real mystery. The word ‘Poffertjes’ which can be quite a tongue twister, basically means Dutch mini pancakes. And yeah, we already know who our Pompa is, the man himself. Hence, the mini cart that is very close to the Candolim beach, is called Pompa’s Poffertjes.
My team and I struggled to find the pancake cart near Minx as we looked left and right as the cars honked continuously from all sides. If you have been to Candolim, you know how chaotic it is! Suddenly my friend, Rifa, spotted a young guy coming out of his car parked in front of us and she goes like, “Isn’t this THE GUY?”. He was caught off guard as he looked at us, shocked and almost afraid of being attacked. “Are you’ll here for the pancakes?”, he asks in a soft tone. We nod, guessing he wasn’t quite ready for us. Well, Candolim is a place full of life with many places to visit and click pictures of, so we did, giving Pompa enough time to set up.
By 3 o’clock, Pompa was ready to make his hands work. While we were busy deciding our order, he points out that “Go Dutch” which is a mixture of Sugar and Butter, is a special one there. What we ordered was quite different though, here’s a sneak peek of how Pompa entertained us.
Pompa is not much of a talker when he works as he concentrates on the perfection of each Dutch mini pancake. He squeezed the bottle of the pancake batter as it comfortably sat taking its shape into the heated moulding pan.
Non-stop Pompa squeezed the batter out as we looked, as continued maintaining his focus while we breathed down his neck. Our hungry stomach growled at the wafting aroma of the fresh, warm, rising poffertjes.
As we observed the method Pompa used, he took a clean, long, not too thin or not too thick, stick and flipped the pancakes one by one. Our eyes caught the mesmerising effect of the fluffy pancakes dancing upside down. The warm essence of Vanilla filled the air around the cart as passers-by stopped to see what it was.
And finally, the pancakes were out and on our plates, while Pompa readied them to perfection. The main ingredient being, the powdered sugar which he perfectly sprinkled all over each poffertjes. Finally, we could differentiate our plates from one and other as Pompa added the fruits, butter, chocolate chips and sauces.
Chocolate Overload melted into my mouth as I took a whole pancake and stuffed it in. The chocolate sauce merged with the chocolate sprinkles as the pancakes soft fluffy sponge blended it all together onto the taste buds.
Peanut Butter Love is especially meant for all those who have a sweet tooth but sometimes don’t prefer it to be too sweet. Yes, Pompa’s got you covered. With the love of Peanut butter, bananas and chocolate chips, the poffertjes are a divine intervention hitting directly your heart.
Nutella Madness is personally my favourite one. I mean, it’s chocolates and strawberries 🍓 right? And what’s even better is the soft, fun-filled fluffiness of the silly pancakes! You can literally feel your taste buds being tested with every bite of the Nutella madness. The bitter-sweet flavour of the strawberries blend not just with the neutral warm pancakes but the hazelnut topping of the Nutella. It speaks craziness with each bite!
Blueberry Rush as the name itself says, sends a rush down your spine as you savour it in. This is a packet of sweetness! It comprises of chocolate chips, chopped blueberries all the way from Netherlands to the Panjim market (where Pompa secretly buys it all) and the divine caramel sauce. I would blame the blueberries for taking away the show when honestly caramel sauce is the idea reason why the poffertjes flaunt.
You can’t ever be done with pancakes right? So why not take a visit back to Pompa’s Poffertjes! ‘Cuz I know that I’ll be visiting it soon enough to try out the different options of the Dutch minis.
What are you waiting for? Head over to Candolim to meet Pompa and savour the good stuff he has to offer from the Dutch.
P.S. You get Pompa’s friendship for FREE!!
Ratings: 4.5/5
Location: Near Dr. Dukle’s Hospital, Opposite Zense Resort, hiding behind a huge banyan tree!
Delicious Deluxe 